Reports of Tesla’s Autopilot Safety Are Greatly Exaggerated
In May, a fatal highway crash raised concerns about the safety of the futuristic Tesla’s Autopilot system. The brainchild of tech giant Elon Musk, the Autopilot system allows drivers to hand control of the vehicle to an onboard computer at highway speed. The delivery of the long-awaited self-driving car has been mostly successful, despite the challenges, but Musk’s safety claims about the system are exaggerated, to say the least.
The defense
When the details of the fatal accident were released in July, the company published a blog that compared the Tesla to other vehicles using a common statistic called “Deaths Per Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT).” The post implied that driving with Autopilot was 38% safer than driving without it. That number was based on Tesla’s fatality rate per VMT (1 every 130 million miles) versus the overall rate in the US (1 every 94 million miles). Later, in an email to Fortune magazine, Musk explicitly stated that the math was plain, and that half a million lives would be saved every year if the Autopilot system was available around the world.
Musk ended his email with a plea: “Please take five minutes to do the bloody math…” A recent article in Green Car Reports did just that, and found that the numbers tell a very different story. They found that Tesla’s statistics aren’t nearly as good as Musk makes them out to be. The reasons behind the statistical comparison are complicated and math heavy, but here’s why Autopilot isn’t nearly as safe as the company claims it is:
- An additional, initially unreported death in China in January brings the death toll to two, which brings Tesla’s rate down to 1 death every 111 million miles.
- The US fatality rate per VMT is based on all vehicle deaths, including bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians, 18-wheelers, and buses. Passenger cars make up only about 36% of those accidents.
- Autopilot is mostly used on limited-access four lane-highways, in daytime, during good weather, on dry roads and with good visibility.
- The car is heavy and has a wide center of gravity with excellent crashworthiness; this makes it expensive, and means that…
- Most Teslas are driven by wealthy middle-aged people, a demographic with a generally good driving record. This removes teenagers and the elderly from the sample, two groups with relatively poor driving records.
Bottom line? Protect yourself
Until more data is available, it might not be possible to determine just how safe Autopilot actually is. As of now, Tesla drivers are urged to keep their hands on the wheel and eyes on the road even when Autopilot is engaged, just in case. For the rest of us on the road, there isn’t much we can do to protect ourselves against a computer malfunction or inattentive driver other than to retain experienced and aggressive legal counsel. If you or your loved one has been injured in car crash, the experienced Baltimore auto accident lawyers at Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. can evaluate your case and help get you the compensation you deserve. Call 410-730-7737 or contact us today for a free consultation.
Bruce Plaxen was honored as the 2009 Maryland Trial Lawyer of the Year by the Maryland Association for Justice. For more information on his legal background, please visit his attorney bio.